Collapsible umbrella frame



April 5, 1966 H. WEBER 3,244,187

COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA FRAME Filed Dec. 1?, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .70 yen/0r:

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Filed Dec. 17 1965 Fly I2 United States Patent ,0

3,244,187 COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA FRAME Heinz Weber, Hilden, Rliineland, Germany, assignor to Bremshey & Co., Solingen-Ohligs, Germany, a corporation of German Filed Dec. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 331,155 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 29, 1962,

B 70,179; July 20, 1963, B 72,769

16 Claims. (Cl. 135-26) My invention relates to a collapsible umbrella whose frame can be shortened by telescoping so that, when the umbrella, when completely collapsed, is small enough to be carried in a brief bag r ladys pocketbook, for example.

More specifically, my invention relates to a collapsible umbrella frame composed of a stick which is formed of telescoping portions, a main runner or slider displaceable along the stick and latchable thereto in frame-unfolding position, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to the stick and an outer member which is linked by a main strut to the main runner, and an auxiliary runner which is slidable along the stick and is linked to the main struts by means of auxiliary struts. Such umbrella frames are described, for example, in US. Patents 2,165,967 and 3,003,510. This type of umbrella, although generally satisfactory, may occasionally cause trouble because the rib members, instead of turn ing outwardly away from the stick in order to open the umbrella, sometimes telescope into each other so that the umbrella cannot open at the first try. To remedy such trouble, a spring-biased pawl has been pivoted to the auxiliary runner for catching, during opening of the umbrella, into a recess in the stick wall, thus temporarily stopping the auxiliary runner, the pawl being thereafter lifted out of the recess by the turning movement of the auxiliary braces away from the stick during further opening of the umbrella. The pawl, therefore, is active only in the particular interval of the umbrella opening movements in which the pawl action is needed to prevent undesired telescoping of the ribs. During that interval of temporarily arrested auxiliary-runner travel, the opening of the umbrella roof comes about by the fact that the ribs are now being pressed outwardly by the auxiliary struts which, though temporarily prevented from further upward travel, are turned outwardly by the main struts. The force which, for this purpose, must be applied by hand to the main runner is the greater the more closely the struts lie against the stick. This will be realized if one considers that theoretically the manual force would have to be infinite if the struts were exactly parallel to the stick axis. While this does not occur in reality, the struts may be close enough to such parallel positions to require an inconveniently large manual effort.

It is an object of my invention to provide a collapsible umbrella frame generally of the above-mentioned type in which an undesired telescoping of the rib members, when unfolding the roof of the umbrella, is always reliably prevented and simultaneously the manual force needed for actuating the main runner is always reduced to a conveniently small amount.

According to my invention, the pawl on the auxiliary runner for temporarily arresting it during unfolding of a collapsible umbrella frame is assigned the further function of coacting with one of the auxiliary struts to constrainedly turn that strut away from the stick. For this purpose, and in accordance with a more specific feature of the invention, the pawl is designed as a lever with two leverage arms, one arm being engageable with the catch recess of the stick in order to be arrested by the recess at the beginning of the umbrella unfolding movement and thereby causing the manually actuated main runner to 3,244,187 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 impose a torque upon the lever, whereas the second leverage arm serves to transmit the torque to the auxiliary strut in the unfolding sense.

As a result, the force required for initiating the umbrella unfolding movement becomes independent of the position which the struts occupy relative to the stick axis. Even in the most unfavorable event considered above, namely if the struts are substantially parallel to the stick axis, the invention results in imparting a torque to the struts in the roof-unfolding sense and always prevents the two members of each rib from being telescoped into each other, so that the umbrella will unfold under all conditions. Furthermore, the shock due to impact of the pawl against the end of the catch recess occurring when the pawl commences latching the auxiliary runner is considerably moderated, and the force to be applied to the main runner at the beginning of the unfolding stage, starting with the moment of the just-mentioned impact, is considerably reduced.

An umbrella frame embodying the above-mentioned features of my invention can be simplified by having the pivot point of the pawl lever on the auxiliary runner coincide with that of the auxiliary strut, this being similar to the common pivot used for the pawl and auxiliary strut in the above-mentioned known umbrella. However, for the purpose of my invention, it is necessary to make certain that the pawl lever can perform the desired torque producing and transmitting effect by giving the lever the necessary degree of freedom relative to its pivot. According to a more specific feature of my invention, this is achieved by providing for clearance of the pawl lever on the pivot in a radial direction with respect to the stick axis.

In the known umbrella, the pawl pivoted on the auxiliary. runner is lifted out of the catch recess by being coupled with a pair of auxiliary struts with the aid of a spring bracket. Such a design would complicate achieving the main purpose of the present invention. However, there are two ways of improvement. One way is to arrange the biasing spring for the pawl lever so that it tends to lift the latch arm of the lever out of the catch recess, and to also provide at the lever a stop which abuts against the auxiliary strut and prevents the latch arm from disengaging the recess until the auxiliary strut pivots away from the stick. Another way is to provide an articulate connection between the lever and the auxiliary strut, in conjunction with a spring which tends to turn the lever on the pivot of the auxiliary strut toward the stick to an extent determined by the lateral clearance of the lever relative to its pivot axis, the latter feature requiring, of course, the above-mentioned provision of clearance between the pawl lever and the pivot in a direction radial with respect to the stick axis.

The pawl lever may be mounted between two auxiliary struts upon the pivot pin that constitutes part of the articulate junction between these auxiliary struts and the auxiliary runner. In this case, the spring bias for the pawl lever is preferably provided by inserting a wire ring spring into the auxiliary runner. According to another embodiment of the invention, a separate pivot, to form a journal for the pawl lever, is mounted on one of the auxiliary struts at a distance from the pivot that connects the strut with the auxiliary runner. In the latter case, a two-legged spring bent from spring wire is preferably employed for biasing the pawl lever.

According to further features of my invention, the assembling of umbrella frames according to the invention, particularly in large-scale production, is greatly iary runner, whereas the other end of the spring rod carries a nose or dog projection engageable with the catch recess in the stick Wall. As a result, a pivot pin as Well as a separate spring for the pawl lever are eliminated because the turning movement of the lever is now due to the bending resiliency of the rod which simultaneously constitutes its own biasing spring.

In a preferred embodiment of the last-mentioned improved features according to the invention, the pivoting stroke of the spring rod is limited, thus avoiding any overstress possibly resulting in permanent deformation. Such stroke limitation can be obtained in a particularly simple manner by providing the rod near its stick-adjacent end with a slot traversed by the pivot pin of the auxiliary strut on the auxiliary runner.

The fastening of the spring rod to the auxiliary strut is simplified by giving the auxiliary strut a U-shaped cross section and clamping or otherwise fastening the spring rod between the legs of this cross section. This also has the advantage that the force transmitted by the pawl lever to the auxiliary strut for turning it outwardly, is not unilaterally but symmetrically applied to the strut. Furthermore, the spring rod is well protected within the U-profile of the auxiliary brace, cannot touch the textile or other web material of the umbrella roof, and is nearly invisible from the outside.

The above-mentioned and further objects, advantages and features of my invention, said features being set forth with particularity in the claims annexed hereto, will be apparent from, and will be described in, the following with reference to three embodiments of umbrella frames according to the invention illustrated by way of example on the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of part of a collapsible umbrella according to the invention in extended but unfolded condition.

FIG. -2 shows the same frame during unfolding.

FIG. 3 shows the same frame in collapsed condition.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through the stick and auxiliary runner of a first embodiment, relating to a condition in which the unfolding of the umbrella roof may commence.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 but showing a subsequent stage of unfolding operation.

' FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5 but relating to the conditions obtaining during telescoping of the stick.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show longitudinal sections of a sec- 0nd embodiment in three different stages of operation corresponding to FIGS. 4 to 6 respectively.

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 show longitudinal sections of a third embodiment in three different stages also corresponding to FIGS. 4 to 6 respectively; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of part of the upper stick portion in an umbrella frame.

The umbrella frame illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises -a stick composed of two telescoping tubular portions 1 and 2. Stick portion 1 carries a crown 3 at its top, and portion 2 carries a handle 4 at its lower end. The means for mutually latching the two stick portions in the extended position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, being generally known and conventional, are not illustrated.

The ribs linked to the crown 3 are likewise composed of two telescoping members, namely a hollow tubular inner member 5 and an outer member 6, the latter consisting usually of a massive rod. A sleeve 7 is displaceable on the hollow rib member 5 near the outer end thereof and is joined by a linking pin 3 with the upper end of the massive outer rib member 6. The pin 8 also serves for articulately joining the outer rib member 6 with a main strut 9. All main struts are pivot-ally joined at '10 with a sleeve-shaped main runner 11 which surrounds the stick and is displacea'ble along the stick. When the umbrella is folded, as shown in FIG. 1, the main runner 11 is located near the handle 4. When the umbrella roof is fully unfolded the main runner 11 is latchable on stick portion 1 near the crown 3, the latching means being conventional and not illustrated. Connected with each main strut 9 by a link pin 13 is an auxiliary strut 12. All auxiliary struts 12 are pivoted at 14 to an auxiliary runner 15 which forms a sleeve about the stick and is longitudinally displaceable.

For unfolding an umbrella of this type, the main l'Lll'lner '11 is released from its lowermost position shown in FIG. 1, and the handle 4 is manually moved upwardly toward the crown 3. As mentioned, it may happen in the known umbrellas that the roof will not open because the rib members 5 and 6 become telescoped together under the pushing force exerted by the main struts 9 through the sleeves 7 upon the rib members 6. In an umbrella according to the invention, however, such trouble is prevented by the means described presently.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the pivoting of all auxiliary struts 12 to the auxiliary runner 15 is effected by means of a ring-shaped wire 16 tied into a ring-shaped groove 17 of the auxiliary runner 15. The heads 18 of the individual auxiliary runners are in engagement with respective radially extending recesses 19 of the runner 15.

Also pivoted upon the ring-shaped wire 16 between each two neighboring auxiliary struts 12 is a lever 20 which has an elongated hole 21 traversed by the pivot wire 16. Hence the lever 23 is not only rotatable about its pivot point but is also radially displaceable with respect to the axis of the stick. The lever 20 has a latch nose or shoulder 22, a hook-shaped extension 23, and a lateral shoulder lug 24. The hook 23 is engaged by a spring 25 consisting of a wire bent to the shape of a ring which is placed into a groove 26 of the auxiliary runner 15. The spring 25 tends to turn the lever 20 counterclockwise about its pivot at 16. However, the turning movement is prevented by the auxiliary strut 12 extending parallel to the stick axis when the umbrella frame is in the folded condition shown in FIG. 4. Then the shoulder lug 24, biased by the spring 25, abuts against the auxiliary strut 12 and thus stops the lever 20. Rotation of lever 20 is released only when the auxiliary strut 12 turns away from the stick to the position shown in FIG. 5.

A catch recess formed by a longitudinal slot 27 is provided in the wall of the stick portion 1 and is aligned with the lever 20. When the umbrella frame is folded according to FIG. 1, the lever 20 is located downwardly away from the slot, and its distance from the handle 4 is smaller than the distance of the handle from the slot 27. The latch arm or nose 22 of the lever 20 then rests against the outside of the stick portion 1.

When the umbrella is being unfolded and the ribmembers 5 and 6, instead of turning immediately away from the stick, tend to telescope into each other, the latch arm 22 of lever 20 glides upwardly along the stick portion 1 until it catches into the slot 27. Now the lever 20 abuts against the upper end of the slot 27, and the further upward movement of the main runner 11 imposes a torque upon the lever 20 through the upward thrust of the auxiliary strut 12 shown in FIG. 4. This torque has the leverage arm a (FIG. 4) and tends to turn the lever 20 counterclockwise about the point of abutment between the nose 22 and the upper end of the slot 27, and thus also about the pivot 16 of the lever. The lever 20 transmits the torque to the auxiliary strut 12 by means of the shoulder lug 24 acting upon the strut 12 with the lever-age arm b, thus turning the auxiliary strut 12 counterclockwise about the pivot 16. The turning movement continues until the parts reach the positions illustrated in FIG. 5 and is imparted to the appertaining main strut 9, as well as to all other main struts because all of the frame components are constrainedly joined with one another. As a result, the rib members 5, 6 are swung outwardly and the umbrella roof is properly opened.

During the roof opening movement, the auxiliary strut 12 recedes back according to FIG. 5 and thereby permits the spring 25 to turn the lever 20 counterclockwise about pivot 16 so that the latch nose 22 of lever 20 is lifted out of slot 27. This releases the auxiliary runner which now continues its upward travel toward the crown 3 so that the opening of the roof is completed.

When during closing of the roof, the main runner 11 moves downwardly along the stick, the lever again passes by the slot 27. Now, however, the auxiliary runner 15 is not retained by the slot because the nose 22 has an inclined back surface 28 which glides off the lower end of the slot.

When the umbrella is being telescoped to shortened length, thus passing from the condition of FIG. 1 to that shown in FIG. 3, the nose 22 approaches the slot 27 as it does when the umbrella is being opened. However, the nose 22 cannot now drop into the slot 27 because, during telescoping of the stick portions, the lower stick portion 2 participates in the movement of the auxiliary runner 15 and thereby covers the slot 27 from the inside, according to FIG. 6, before the slot is reached by the nose 22. Under these conditions, the front edge 29 of the nose 22 is now so inclined that it readily passes over the upper edge of the slot.

In the embodiment according toFIGS. 7 to 9, a pawl, in form of a lever 30 having an elongated opening 31, is pivotally and displaceably mounted upon the ring-shaped wire pivot 16 between two neighborhoring auxiliary braces 12. The lever 30 has a latch arm in form of a nose 32 that corresponds to the nose 22 in the embodi- .-ment of FIGS. 4 to 8 and cooperates with a catch recess in form of a slot 27 provided in the stick wall. The

lever 30 is joined with an auxiliary strut 12 by a linking pin 33. Placed about the pin 33 is a two-legged wire spring 34. One leg 35 of the spring has its end bent laterally so as to engage the head of the auxiliary strut .12. The other leg 36 of the spring abuts against a shouleffect of the spring 34, which, in opposition to the biasing force of the spring 25, tends to force the nose 32 into engagement with the slot 27. The turning angle of the .lever 30 about the pin 33 is limited by the length of the elongated opening 31.

As described above with reference to FIG. 6, the pawl lever 30 in' the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 9 acts upon the auxiliary strut 12 with'a leverage arm b to produce a torque, corresponding to a torque which is exerted by the stick wal-l upon the lever with an effective leverage'arm a.

i In both embodiments described above, a guide may be provided to make certain that the nose of lever 20 or 30 will reliably drop into the slot 27 even if the slot, for minimizing any weakening of the stick wall, is kept narrow in the tangential direction. Such a guide preferably consists of a longitudinal groove in the wall of the tubular stick portion 1 in which the nose of the latch lever is guided and in whose bottom the slot 27 is located. Such a guiding groove is illustrated at 50 in FIG. 13, where the slot is denoted by 49. If the tubular rod portion 1 has a hexagonal cross section and the nose of the lever glides on one of the planar faces of the tube, a particular guide for the nose is not necessarily required.

According to FIGS. 10 to 12, showing the most preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the auxiliary braces 12a has a U-shaped cross section and receives a resilient rod 40 between the two legs of its profile. The rod 40 is firmly clamped or fastened between the legs by means preferably made of a single piece punched from spring- FIG. 11.

which is provided with an enlongated opening 43 traversed by a tie wire 44 that constitutes the pivot by means of which all auxiliary struts are articulately joined with the auxiliary runner 15. The elongated opening 43 limits the movement of the arm 40 radially inwardly and radially outwardly. The head 42 forms a nose 45 with a normally horizontal abutment edge 46 (FIG. 10) and two inclined cam edges 47 and 48.

When the umbrella frame according to FIGS. 10 to 12,

. in the expanded condition shown in FIG. 1, is being opened and the opening of the roof does not immediately take place because the rib portions commence telescoping into each other, the nose 45 of the rod-shaped latch lever first glides along the outer surface of the stick portion 1 until it catches into a slot 49 in the wall of this stick portion, thus reaching the condition illustrated in FIG. 10. As the main runner is being further displaced upwardly, the edge 46 abuts against the upper end of the recess 49 and thus produces a torque about the axis defined by the pivot 44. This causes the auxiliary strut 12a to turn outwardly in the same manner as described above with reference to the preceding embodiments. The turning movement of auxiliary strut 12a is imparted to the appertaining main strut and to all other components of the frame.

After the auxiliary strut 12a has thus turned relative to the stick through a given angle and has reached the angular position shown in FIG. 11, the nose 45 passes out of the slot 49 and releases the auxiliary runner 15. During further opening of the roof, the runner 15 travels upwardly along the stick beyond the angular position shown in It may occasionally happen that the nose 45, when closing the roof, will contact the stick already above the slot 49 and will then drop into the slot during further downward travel of the auxiliary runner. This, however, does not interrupt the travel of the auxiliary runner because the nose is immediately forced out of the recess 49 by means of its inclined cam edge 47.

After the roof is closed and if the frame is to be shortened, the nose 45 again drops into slot 49. Now the travel of the auxiliary runner is again not stopped because the nose cannot completely enter into the recess but hits upon the outer surface of the tubular stop portion 2 as shown in FIG. 12. As a result, the nose is arrested at about the mid-point of its normal latching depth, and the transversev abutment edge 46 remains outside of the catch recess 49 and thus is ineffective. During the further displacement of the auxiliary runner 15, the nose 45 is urged out of the recess 49 by means of its inclined cam edge 48, and the further telescoping of the frame to the shortened length takes place without hindrance. The analogous movements occur when the frame is being pulled to full length, in which case the inclined cam edge 47 takes care of preventing the nose 45 from being caught in the recess 49.

The spring rod 40 with the head 42 and its nose 45 are steel sheet material and thereafter hardened. If desired,

vhowever, the head portion and the spring rod of the latch lever may be produced as separate parts which are subsequently fixed to each other, for exampleby riveting.

As a rule, it suflices to provide only one of the auxiliary braces with a resilient rod-like latch lever. However,

two or more auxiliary braces may also be joined with respective spring rods, particularly for the purpose of securing symmetrical force conditions.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 and 7 to 9, a guide, preferably in form of a longitudinal groove 50 (FIG. 13), may be provided on the outer side of the tubular stick portion 1 for reliably passing the nose 45 into the catch recess 49 if the recess is made rather narrow.

To those skilled in the art, it will be obvious upon a study of this disclosure that umbrella frames according to my invention may be modified in various other respects and hence can be given embodiments different from out departing from the essential features of my invention and within the scope of the claims annexed hereto.

I claim:

1. A collapsible umbrella frame, Comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-folding and unfolding positions, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member, main struts linking said respective outer rib members to said main runner, an auxiliary runner glideable on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by displacement of said main runner, pivot means on said auxiliary runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being connected to said auxiliary runner by said pivot means, said auxiliary struts being pivotally movable about said pivot means relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to frame-folding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a springbiased pawl lever pivotally connected by said pivot means to said auxiliary runner in common with said auxiliary struts and having a latch arm engagea-ble with said recess constrainedly transmitting thereto said torque in the frame-unfolding sense, and said auxiliary strut being coupled with said lever for releasing said latch arm from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut.

2. A collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1, comprising a biasing spring for said pawl lever whose bias direction corresponds to the releasing direction of said latch arm, and said lever having a shoulder member engageable with said one auxiliary strut at a distance from said pivot means, whereby said auxiliary strut prevents said spring from releasing said latch arm from said recess until said auxiliary strut has swung sufficiently away from said stick.

3. A collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1,

wherein said torque transmitting means comprises a linking pin which articulately joins said pawl lever with said one auxiliary strut and is radially spaced from said common pivot means and parallel thereto, and a spring engaging said pawl lever and having the tendency to turn said lever about said linking pin toward said stick to the extent of said displacement distance.

4. In a collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1, wherein said torque transmitting means comprises elastic spring rod of elongated shape integral with and extending from said pawl lever, said rod being connected to said one auxiliary strut at a location spaced from said auxiliary runner.

5. A collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 4, comprising stop means forming an abutment between said rod and said auxiliary runner for limiting the outward pivotal travel of said rod.

6. In a collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1, wherein said limit means comprises an elongated slot formed in said pawl lever, said slot being engaged by said pivot means and extending transverse to the radial direction relative to said pivot means, said pawl lever forming an integral elastic spring rod of elongated shape, said rod being connected to said one auxiliary strut at a location spaced from said pivot means.

7. In a collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 6, said auxiliary strut having a U-shaped cross section,

and said spring rod being straddled by said cross section at said locality of connection.

8. A collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1 wherein said pivot means comprises a tie wire carried by said auxiliary runner, and said position adjusting means for said pawl lever being an elongated slot formed in said pawl lever and extending in a direction substantially radial to the stick axis, said tie Wire extending through said slot for pivotally supporting said pawl lever.

9. A collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1 wherein said torque transmitting means comprises an extension from said pawl lever having an articulating connection at the end thereof with said one auxiliary strut at a location spaced from said auxiliary runner, said extension being resiliently biased so that it tends to turn in a clockwise direction about said articulating connection.

10. A collapsible umbrella frame, comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-folding and unfolding positions, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member, main struts linking said respective outer rib members to said main runner, an auxiliary runner glidaible on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by dis placement of said main runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being pivotally movable relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to frame-folding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a spring-biased pawl lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary runner and having a latch arm engagea'ble with said recess for temporarily retaining said auxiliary runner at the beginning of the unfolding movement of said main runner whereby said movement imparts to said pawl lever a torque about its pivot on said auxiliary runner, torque transmitting means extending from said lever and engage-alble with one of said auxiliary struts for constrainedly transmitting thereto s'aid torque in the frameun-folding sense, said auxiliary strut being coupled with said lever for releasing said latch arm from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut, and a biasing spring for said pawl lever whose bias direction corre sponds to the releasing direction of said latch arm, said lever having a shoulder member engageable with said one auxiliary strut at a distance from the strut pivot point of said auxiliary runner, whereby said auxiliary strut prevents said spring from releasing said latch arm from said recess until said auxiliary strut has swung sufliciently away from said stick.

-11. A collapsible umbrella frame, comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-holding and unfold- .ing positions, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member, main struts linking said respective outer rib members to said main runner, an auxiliary runner glidable on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by displacement of said main runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being pivotally movable relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to frame-folding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a spring biased pawl lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary runner and having a latch arm engageable with said recess for temporarily retaining said auxiliary runner at the beginning of the unfolding movement of said main runner whereby said movement imparts to .said pawl lever a torque about its pivot on said auxiliary runner, said pawl lever and at least one of said auxiliary of saidiauxiliary struts for constainedly transmitting thereto said torque in the frame-unfolding sense, said linking pin being radially spaced from said common pivot and parallel thereto, and a spring engaging said pawl lever and having the tendency to turn said lever about said linking pin toward said stick, said latch arm being releasable from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut.

12. A collapsible umbrella frame, comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-folding and unfolding positions, telescoping rribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member main struts linking said respective outer rib member to said main runner, an auxiliary runner glidable on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by displacement of said main runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being pivotally movable relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to frame-folding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a spring-biased pawl lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary runner and having a latch arm engageable with said recess for temporarily retaining said auxiliary runner at the beginning of the unfolding movement of said main runner whereby said movement imparts to said pawl lever a torque about its pivot on said auxiliary runner, and an elastic spring rod of elongated shape integral with and extending from said pawl lever, said rod being connected, at a location spaced from said auxiliary runner, to one of said auxiliary struts for constrainedly transmitting thereto said torque in the frame-unfolding sense, said latch arm being releasable from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut.

13. A collapsible umbrella frame, comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-folding and unfolding positions, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member, main struts linking said respective outer rib member to said main runner, an auxiliary runner glidable on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by displacement of said main runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being pivotally moveable relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to frame-folding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a spring-biased pawl lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary runner and having a latch arm engageable with said recess for temporarily retaining said auxiliary runner at the beginning of the unfolding movement of said main runner whereby said movement imparts to said pawl lever a torque about its pivot on said auxiliary runner, an elastic spring rod of elongated shape integral with and extending from said pawl lever, said rod being connected, at a location spaced from said auxiliary runner, to one of said auxiliary struts for constrainedly transmitting thereto said torque in the frame-unfolding sense, said latch arm being releasable from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut, and stop means forming an abutment between said spring rod and said auxiliary runner for limiting the out ward travel of said rod.

14. A collapsible umbrella frame, comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-folding and unfolding positions, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member,

main struts linking said respective outer rib member to said main runner, an auxiliaiy runner glidable on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by displacement of said main runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being pivot-ally movable relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to frame-folding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a spring-biased pawl lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary runner and having a latch arm engageable with said recess for temporarily retaining said auxiliary runner at the beginning of the unfolding movement of said main runner whereby said movement imparts to said pawl lever a torque about its pivot on said auxiliary runner, and an elastic spring rod of elongated shape integral with and extending from said pawl lever, said rod being connected, at a location spaced from said auxiliary runner, to one of said auxiliary struts for constrainedly transmitting thereto said torque in the frame-unfolding sense, said latch arm being releasable from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut, said auxiliary strut having a U- shaped cross section, and said spring rod being straddled by said cross section at said locality of connection.

15. A collapsible vumbrella frame, comprising a stick formed of telescoping portions, a main runner displaceable along said stick between frame-folding and unfolding positions, telescoping ribs each having a radially inner member linked to said stick and an outer member, main struts linking said respective outer rib member to said main runner, an auxiliary runner glidable on said stick along a given path during unfolding of the frame caused by displacement of said main runner, auxiliary struts linking said respective main struts to said auxiliary runner and being pivotally moveable relative to said auxiliary runner due to movement of said main struts to framefolding and unfolding positions, said stick having a catch recess in said path, a spring-biased pawl lever pivotally mounted on said auxiliary runner and having a latch arm engageable with said recess for temporarily retaining said auxiliary runner at the beginning of the unfolding movement of said main runner whereby said movement imparts to said pawl lever a torque about its pivot on said auxilary runner, and an extension of said pawl lever having an articulating connection at the free end thereof with one of said auxiliary struts at a location spaced from said auxiliary runner, said extension being springbiased so that it tends to turn in a clockwise direction about said articulating connection for constrainedly transmitting to said one auxiliary strut said torque in the frameunfolding sense, said latch arm being releasable from said recess by subsequent travel of said auxiliary strut.

16. A collapsible umbrella frame according to claim 1 wherein said torque transmitting means comprises another arm of said lever, integral and rigid therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,156,984 5/1939 Haupt -26 2,165,967 7/1939 H'aupt 13526 3,003,510 10/1961 Fischinger l3526 3,160,166 12/1964 Wuster 135-26 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner. 

1. A COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA FRAME, COMPRIING A STICK FORMED OF TELESCOPING PORTIONS, A MAIN RUNNER DISPLACEABLE ALONG SAID STICK BETWEEN FRAME-FOLDING AN UNFOLDING POSITIONS TELESCOPING RIBS EACH HAVING A RADIALLY INNER MEMBER LINKED TO SAID STICK AND AN OUTER MEMBER, MAIN STRUTS LINKING SAID RESPECTIVE OUTER RIB MEMBERS TO SAID MAIN RUNNER, AN AUXILIARY RUNNER GLIDEABLE ON SAID STICK ALONG A GIVEN PATH DURING UNFOLDING OF THE FRAME CAUSED BY DISPLACEMENT OF SAID MAIN RUNNER, PIVOT MEANS ON SAID AUXILIARY RUNNER, AUXILIARY STRUTS LINKING SAID RESPECTIVE MAIN STRUTS TO SAID AUXILIARY RUNNER AND BEING CONNECTED TO SAID AUXILIARY RUNNER BY SAID PIVOTS MEANS, SAID AUXILIARY STRUST BEING PIVOTALLY MOVABLE ABOUT SAID PIVOT MEANS RELATIVE TO SAID AUXILIARY RUNNER DUE TO MOVEMENT OF SAID MAIN STRUTS TO FRAME-FOLDING AND UNFOLDING POSITIONS, SAID STICK HAVING A CATCH RECESS IN SAID PATH, A SPRINGBIASED PAWL LEVER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED BY SAID PIVOT MEANS TO SAID AUXILIARY RUNNER IN COMMON WITH SAID AUXILIARY STRUTS AND HAVING A LATCH ARM ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID RECESS FOR TEMPORARILY RETAINING SAID AUXILIARY RUNNER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE UNFOLDING MOVEMENT OF SAID MAIN RUNNER WHEREBY SAID MOVEMENT IMPARTS TO SAID PAWL LEVER A TORQUE ABOUT SAID PIVOT MEANS, SAID LEVER BEING DISPLACEABLE RELATIVE TO SAID PIVOT MEANS IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY RADIAL TO THE STICK AXIS, LIMIT MEANS FOR LIMITING THE DISPLACEMENT DISTANCE OF SAID LEVER RELATIVE TO SAID PIVOT MEANS, TORQUE TRANSMITTING MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID LEVER AND ENGAGEABLE WITH ONE OF SAID AUXILIARY STRUTS FOR CONSTRAINEDLY TRANSMITTING THERETO SAID TORQUE IN THE FRAME-UNFOLDING SENSE, AND SAID AUXILIARY STRUT BEING COUPLED WITH SAID LEVER FOR RELEASING SAID LATCH ARM FROM SAID RECESS BY SUBSEQUENT TRAVEL OF SAID AUXILIARY STRUT. 